Foldable tripod easel



March 7, 1961 D. s. HOWELL FOLDABLE TRIPOD EASEL Filed April 10. 1959 IN V EN TOR.

DAV/06114014221. I BY flM/ffla United States Patent 2,973,933roLnABLaTmronrAsnL David S. Howell, Royalour, Mi'clit, as'slgn'or toArlington Aluminum Company, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of MichiganFiled Apr. 10, 1959, Ser. No. 805,543

4 Claims. (Cl. 248-166) This invention relates to easels and, inparticular, to foldable easels.

One object of this invention is to provide a foldable tripod easelwherein the supporting legs are pivotally held within a cup-shaped capof approximately triangular cross-section without the use or need offasteners, pivot pins or the like, with the result that there areno'loose parts to become aocidentially detached and lost'duringtransportation or use. I

Another object is to provide a foldable tripod easel of the foregoingcharacter in which the upper ends of the legs are hollow and areyieldably held in the cup-shaped cap by a three-armed spring leg-holderwhich not only provides a pivotal connection with the cap but alsoresiliently urges the legs outwardly toward the pockets formed at theinside corners of the cap.

Another object is to provide a tripod easel of the foregoing characterwherein the legs may be quickly and easily pushed toward one anotherint-o parallelism with one another and their lower ends fastenedtogether by a suitable connector, such as a rubber band, cord, chain,ring or the like, so as to be held in compact form for storage ortransport; removal of the connector releasing the legs to fly outwardinto unfolded positions in response to the urge of the three-armedspring leg holder.

Another object is to provide a foldable tripod easel of the foregoingcharacter wherein the three-armed spring leg holder has twin-prongedpointed ends which firmly engage the inner wall of the upper end of eachleg and hold it firmly against accidental dislodgment while permittingunimpeded and instant folding, yet enabling the legs to be withdrawnfrom the spring arms by a spiral unscrewing motion with sufficientresistance to prevent unintended displacement or removal.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following description of the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a foldable tripod easel, according toone form of the invention, showing in solid lines the easel in itsunfolded position and in dotted lines two of the supporting legs swunginto folded parallel engagement with the other leg and secured theretoby a cord or elastic band;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken along the line 22 inFigure 1, with portions of the legs broken away to conserve space;

Figure 3 is a cross-section taken along the line- 3 -3 in. Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a top planview of the flat stamped blank from which thethree-armed spring leg-holder is made by a subsequent'bending operation;and

Figure 5 is a vertical section, partly in side elevation, through thespring leg holder of Figure 4 after it has been bent into its final butrelaxed shape prior to installation in the cap.

Hitherto, foldable tripod easels have had folding legs, the upper endsof which were inserted in sockets in a base and held there by means ofscrews or other fasteners.

Thesefasteners wereeasily dislodged and lost in transit or subsequentstorage or us ther'eby rendering the 3 inoperative until they could bereplaced. The present invention provides a foldable tripod easel whicheliminates these defects of prior eases and by having its legs held in aeup shaped cap and urged against internal cor rie'r' pocketsthereof by athree-armed spring" leg lio'ld'ef, elinii' nates thepreviouslydis'ed lfasteners yet permits 1 instant folding and unfolding, as desired. Thefoldable tripod easel of the present invention is especially welladapted for use as a display easel although it is not confined to thatparticular use.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figures 1 and 2 show a foldabletripod easel, generally designated ,10, adapted to be held in a foldedcondition by a cord, elastic band or other suitable holding member 12encircling the lower portions of its hollow tubular legs 14. The legs 14are constructed preferably of aluminum or other lightweight metal. Theupper ends of the hollow tubular legs 14 are inserted in pockets 15formed inside the rounded corners 17 of a cup-shaped cap 16 of the shapeof a frustum of of a hollow triangular pyramid with the rounded corners17, upper end wall 18 and flared side walls 20. Secured to the inside ofthe end wall 18, as by a fastener 22, is a three-leaved springleg-holder, generally designated 24, shown in Figures 4 and 5. Thisspring member 24 has a central base 26 with a hole 28 for the fastener22 and with tapered spring arms 30 inclined downward and outward atcircumferentially-spaced intervals of degrees, and terminating inoutwardlybent fishtail ends 32 with sharp double prongs 34. The fishtailends 32 are bent (Figure 4) so that they are approximately parallel tothe base 26 in the relaxed condition of the spring leg-holder 24. Thelegs 14 have rubber 7 tips 38 and two have display supporting pins 40inserted therein. The pins 40 consist of bolts 42 (Figure 2) passingthrough tubular spacers 44 and holes 46 into nuts 48.

In assembling the device,'the upper ends of the legs 14, which havebores 36 therein, are forced over the fishtail end portions 32 of thearms 30 of the spring leg holder 24 and pushed upward against the lowersurface of the top wall 18. Since the side walls 20 of the end cap 16are inclined at steeper angles to the top wall 18 than the spring arms30 are inclined to the base 26, the arms 30 are in a tensed conditionagainst the inside of the side walls 20 when they are secured within thecap 18 by the fastener 22. As a consequence, the outward spring of thearms 30 causes the prongs 34 on the fishtail ends 32 to bite into thewalls of the tubular legs 14, holding them firmly against directwithdrawal (although they can be withdrawn, with some difliculty, by

a spiral unscrewing motion).

The easel 10 is quickly unfolded for the purpose of displaying placardsor the like and after such use is as quickly capable of being folded, asshown in Figure 2, with its legs parallel and held together by thestring or elastic band 12.

What I claim is:

1. A foldable easel comprising a cap structure having a central supportand a plurality of radially-disposed circu-inferentially-spaced pocketsextending outwardly from said support, a resilient leg holder having acentral base connected to said central support and a plurality ofresilient leg-holding arms connected to said base, said arms beingspaced circumferentially around said base in radial alignment with saidpockets .and extending downwardly and outwardly from said base in therelaxed condition of said leg holder, and a plurality of tripod legshaving Paitented Mar. 7,19er

4 of said arms has a plurality of pointed elements thereon grippinglyengaging the internal upper end portions of said legs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS312,363 Lewis Feb. 17, 1885 2,488,849 Churchill Nov. 22, 1949 FOREIGNPATENTS 156,823 Sweden Nov. 6, 1956

